@CertainlyT: What makes you design champions the way you do?

**–Disclaimer– ** This thread is supposed to be an attempt to publicly communicate with CertainlyT without any interference from trolls, flamers, haters, manchildren, crybabies, complainers, or other internet pathogens. All means of circlejerk be afflicted with downvotes!

I will put it honest:

I don't like CertainlyT's designs. The reasons are obvious, and you have certainly heard them multiple times if you spent at least a slight portion of your life browsing LoL-affiliated forums. I'm not making this thread to complain, but to ask questions. There are two resons why I do this: One, I am a curious fellow. Whenever there is something I find amusing, I don't think twice about spending my passion on it. Game design is one of those, and when there is a controversial question surrounding one of my hobbies, it is logical that I'm considering diving deeper. Two, I believe all actions can be seen as positive, you just have to find the right point of view. I think CertainlyT should get a chance to defend his stance in the public, without being harassed by an angry internet mob. It doesn't mean we have to agree with his statement, but it gives us a chance to see the problem from a different point of view, to broaden our spectrum of potential approaches.

And now to you, CertainlyT:

I have some questions I would like to get answered. Let me start with the context.

Your ideas are incredible, they truly are. They are some of the most innovative pieces of mechanics to ever grace the code of this game. Zyra's plants, Thresh's hook and lantern, Yasuo's wind attacks, Kallista's jumps and sentinels and shenanigans, Mordekaiser's Spirit dragon. All those ideas are mindblowing, and on their own, they are indeed pushing the game forwards. However, somehow, you manage to put them all together in a way that turns your champions from pioneers of the League to gamebreaking hoards of – pardon me – clusterfuck. You give your champion a unique ability, then you add more of them, and then, for some inexplicable reason, you add redundant passives on top of that. The complexity that is formed from this can be forgiven, as the champions are deep from individual gameplay standpoint. However, designs like these cannot be justified from the balance point of view, as older champions hardly have the strategic options your champions have. You are not the only one to do this, as overloaded kits slowly start to become commonplace in recent times. However, the outlandish nature of your design always turns the spotlight to you.

Now please let me ask: How do you come up with your ideas? Is it simply talent, or do you need inspiration as well? Why do your champion concepts turn into the hard-to-balance piles of mess during the development? Don't you see it makes some other champions look like niche picks compared to your designs? What do the other Rioters think of you? How do they see your design input? Lastly, what do you think of the current state of new champion design? Do you see yourself as a misunderstood revolutionary, or just a common pahtfinder, looking for new grounds in League's design?

Thank you for any answered questions. It is possible they would better fit an AMA of some sorts, but I don't want to wait whether I can get an opportunity. Perhaps I might have asked personally, but I want people to see your human, artistic side behind the numbers (yes, I do think game design can be art). Facing controversy is hard, but as a professional game designer, you should have the audacity to stand for your cause. And if not, perhaps somebody else can come and talk it out for you. I think you deserve to be asked impartially, and while I am not the best person to do it, I want to give you a window to stand for yourself on diplomatic ground if noone else does.

EDIT: Reader who made it down here, congratulations, you managed to read the entire wall of text without giving up and downvoting it straight away. I think you deserve a . Skipping doesn't count.